Hyaena Hall’s Reindeer
Archived: 10 September 2026
Abstract
31,824 BCE is not a recoverable historical year but a point within unstable Marine Isotope Stage 3, before the Last Glacial Maximum. Ireland’s ice, coastlines and possible routes from Britain changed regionally, while evidence is fragmentary. Derryvree, County Fermanagh, preserves older deposits showing treeless, wet tundra with sedges, pools and cold-adapted life. Castlepook Cave, County Cork, yielded mammoth, reindeer, giant deer, bear and Ireland’s only spotted hyaena remains, though its bones span different periods. An incised reindeer femur may indicate human butchery, but lacks secure context. No settlements, tools, institutions or beliefs can be identified; research may clarify human presence.
